Canada Revenue Agency tax scam getting more aggressive, police warn
Phoney federal official tells victims arrest warrants to be executed unless 'back taxes' paid
An aggressive scam artist is name-dropping local police in an attempt to scare Calgarians into sending him money.
This week, a Calgary man was contacted by someone pretending to be with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and told he owed back taxes and was wanted on warrants.
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The caller told the victim that Staff Sgt. Kristie Verheul with the economics crime unit of the Calgary Police Service (CPS) would be executing the warrants and arresting him if he did not pay the outstanding taxes.
The victim provided his social insurance number to the scammer and sent him money through a wire service at a Canada Post outlet.
The victim later realized he had been scammed and called police.
The CRA scam is being investigated by police and it's believed the culprit copied Verheul's name from previous public warnings about the scam.
Victims should contact police
Anyone who believes they may have lost money in one of these scams is asked to call the non-emergency line at 403-266-1234.
Police provided numerous tips to avoid falling prey to scammers:
- Do not feel pressured to respond to a request until you have a chance to verify the story.
- Never transfer money, give out credit card, or other financial information until you can verify the person's identity and determine whether it is legitimate.
- The CRA does not ask for payment via prepaid credit cards or wire transfer, nor does it email Canadians and request personal information.
- Look up published numbers for the CRA in the phone book and confirm the legitimacy of the caller's story.
- Do not call numbers provided to you by the person who called you.
- Don't believe what you see as business logos, websites and email addresses can easily be duplicated to look legitimate.
- Watch for poor grammar and spelling.
- Hover your mouse over links to check their true destination. If the URL doesn't match the link or seems suspicious, don't click on it.
- Be wary of unexpected emails that contain links or attachments from unknown senders.
- Never provide personal information like your SIN, bank account information or credit card numbers.
- Update your computer's anti-virus software.